Ventilating apparatus and method.



P. G. HEWITT.

VENTILATING APPARATUS AND METHOD. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1907. RENEWED EEE.12, 1915.

1, 1 33,027. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

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Application filed September 25, 198?, Serial Ho. 8%,48d. Renewed February; 12, 1915. Serial No. 7,788.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER COOPER -a citizen of the United States, and a. resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ventilating Apparatus and Methods, of which the following is a specification.

This invention involves the use of a fan to produce a gentle movement of air, particularly applicable for use in connection with oflice desks, work tables, ordining tables, particularly the smaller tables commonly used in restaurants.

One of the "objects of my invention is to utilize the induced draft of a small fan to produce gentle movement of the air over a horizontal or upwardly exposed surface and also a comparatively difl'used forced draft in the opposite direction above the induced draft and preferably in a plane approximately parallel therewith.

In an ordinary ventilating fan of the propeller type, the air drawn into the fan comes from all directions, including such part of the space in front of the fan as is not occupied by the jet or' forced discharge therefrom. The result is that at a very short dis tance from the fan. the movement of the air is along lines which are approximately the radii of a sphere, so that the rate of movement of air decreases approximately as the cube of the distance therefrom. Asa consequence, an ordinary ventilating fan pro.- duces no induced draft capable of effective use, and the forced draft is practically the sole agent of ventilation. I

I have discovered that the induced d a t of acom'paratively small propeller fan of low power may be localized adjacent the surface of a table or desk by arranging the fan on a. substantially vertical axis and causing it to discharge upwardly, provided the fan be located at a distance from the table not greater than its own diameten; Such an arrangement will produce a very perceptible draft over quite an extent of surface, but the air supply for the induced draft is still do:

.tal, by arranging in the line of theaxis of he fan aplate which distributes the air in a thin layer in all directions. If this p ate is nea enough to the table and so ar anged that the outgoing Sheet of air has its lower surface app oximatel pa allel with the table, then all g ons above the p ane. o the f n a eeut off as a so ree of supply for the induced draft and all of the ir ne es ry to satisfy the latter must be de i ed, e he by air: d awn in. over the urface of the tabl or defle ted a d whirled k from the utgoing forced d aft- By this arrangement a large part of the space fr m whi h air m y be dr n is u all. and the speed of mqvement of the ind ced in it n h remaining space s prop rtional y in:

r as d This resu ts in producing a the edges of an ordinary table, at a distance om the fan q l t s y, 1% to 3 or 4 times he diameter o he f n, a v y per ceptible inward movement of the air which s p rt c a lveif cti e in ool ngthe b dy of a person sitting at the table. The action on the hands and wrists ispartioularly noic a d e f t e, and a e-sametime.

the draft at the surface of the, tableis of such gentle and diffused character as not ta disturb papers or other light articles lying 11.1 1 h ta l Y m k h d k f. u c nt s ze sar v 1% diameter of the fan, and locating' it a; su b e d tan e from t e same. s y a me fth Whi l er vert x r i l be 3 t g lglike 3 or 4 diameters of the fan. While th s app oxima ly cl sed circuit'le iaqd d ft. s-us u for s me n v fi a 8 within the spirit of my invention, I prefer a wider or more open draftcircuit. To th s nd, I may em y a sm l r e c in P e.

so arranged that the lower surface bound-e ing the outgoing layer of air will be sub:

stantially horizontal or even somewhat inuclined upwardly. With such an arr g men th tgoi g forced dr t fe mion the upper layer and the incoming indu ed,

draft nearer the surface'of the table. Wii'l he m r in p n en f e her and the r meant of continuously circulat d take by the induced draft from the outgoing forced draft will be less, so that where the table is of a size equal to about 3 or 4': chance ters of the tan, there will be a. very considerable localized induced draft of air coming up over the edges of the table at. the point. where the wrist is likely to be, particularly" where the table is used for dining or similar purposes.

l have toundthat in the case of propeller fans of ordinary commercial design, the induced and forced drafts will have the above eter abovethe table and the disk about l of a diameterabove the fan. The diameter of the disk is preferably about 1%; diameters of the tan.

lit is obvious that the above invention is to consist essentially of a power tan and a deflector held in the above described relations to each other and to the table or similar surface. My invention further contemplates the concrete useful embodiment of the invention adapted for portable use and application to or removal from a desired location upon any suitable table or desk.

Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a diagram illustrating the essentials of my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a useful concrete form of the invention. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the tan I, mounted on the vertical axis 2, is located a distanceabove the horizontal table 3 equal to its own diameter. The deflecting disk 4: is located i diameter above the tan concentrically therewith and has a diameter Ill times the diameter of the fan. lit the disk t is made 1% times the diameter of the I fall, as indicated in dotted lines at 5, and

the table is moved to the position 3'. the relations will approximate those at which the closed circuit or vortex draft above de scribed becomes apparent. lit will be obvious that the disk may be a cone or modified cone, and that it may be of various sizes and of difierent distances from the fan, but all such shapes, diameters, and distance should be regulated with a view to the function to be served and, as a general rule, the outgomg layer of air should be arranged to have its lower surface not more than thirty degrees above the horizontal. I In Fig. 2 l have shown a concrete embodiment of my invention, wherein the distance of the fan ll from the base 13 is considerably less than one diameter of the tan and the distance of the deflecting plate M from mid tan is less than t diameter and more means? than diameter. The deflecting plate is of a diameter equal to about ll; diameters at the fan and is madei-n the form ot a tray, which may beutilized to support ornaments, flower receptacles, or condiment dishes of various'kinds. The motor case of the tan 7 is supported by spring arms ti,- 6, etc., secured adjustably or otherwise to the"uprights 7, 7, etc, which support the upper tray. These uprights may be connected together at the bottom, or may be left as legs adapted to rest upon the table or desk and to support the fan at the desired distance therefrom. As shown in the drawing, the legs are secured to a second tray 23, which is similar to the upper tray. The motor case is preferably steadied in position by means of a support 8, which ispreferably ot rubber or similarly elastic material intended to deaden vibration.

The relative distances of the fan from the table and from the deflector may be adjusted by means of spacing sleeves of suitable length, which may be mounted or removed as at 8', 8', Fig. 2.

The sides ol the structure between the base 13 and the upper deflecting tray ll; are preferably left open and substantially unobstructed so that both the induced and forced movements of the air may develop naturally and without interference, save only by the deflecting plate above and the table below. This need not prevent the use of an open work cage of wire or similar materiahsuch as is commonly used to prevent accidental contact with the fan while in motion, nor oil a vertical shield to close in and prevent all draft around a portion of the periphery to thereby still further limit directions from which the induced draft may be supplied. This condition is approximated where the fan is located on the end of a restaurant table adjacent a wall of the room. lln such case the essentials of my method may still be practiced or the closed circuit vortexoperation may be aproximated with any desired degree of perfection. The diderence is that the development of the draft is onesided, instead of symmetrical.

Where the deflector is in the form of a Hat plate, it will impair the eficiency of the fan if located less than t tan diameter away from the tan. Where a flat cone is used, the vertical distance between it and the upper edge of the fan blade at the widest portion of the blade should be greater than a of the'diam'eter of the fan, otherwise the fan tends to operate as a very ineficient air till lltltl ltlli are compressor, the power apparently being en and a large proportion of it returns di= rectlytothe back side of the fan to satisfy the induced draft, the circuit being too small for useful ventilating purposes.

For purpose of low velocity ventilation for comparatively small spaces, such as is contemplated by my present invention, I prefer to use a motor fan of standard type having blades, say, six to ten inches in diameter and a motor of, say, i to -1; of

a horse-power, since the device when prop-- erly proportioned for such motor fans is of very convenient size for table or desk use. The outward forced draft may be of about the proper direction to take efiect directly on the neck and face of the user and may be so gentle as to permit of continued direct application: without roducing a chill or other objectionable e ects. By adjustment after the manner hereinbefore described the outgoing forced draft may be made to follow a more or less closed circuit of movement and may bethus more or less completely diverted from direct impingement on the body, if desired. 7

I claim:

1. The combination with a motor fan, base plate, and tray of means for holding said base plate and'tray in approximately parallel i'elation at a distance apart not less than the diameter of said fan, and means for supporting said motor fan between said tray and said plate with its axis substantially concentric with said tray and with the propeller of the fan arranged with its nearer to the tray than to forced draft side the base plate. k

2. The combination with a motor fan and two trays of means for holding said trays in approximatelyparallel relation at adis-j tance apartnot less than the diameter of' said fan, and means for supp rting said motor fan between said trays with its axis substantially concentric with said trays and with its propeller distant from the deflecting tray on the forced draft side about one half as far as its distance from the tray on the induced draft side.

3. A combined table utensil and ventilat-- ing apparatus, comprising a tray, supports secured thereto, adapted to hold the tray at a distance from the table approximately equal to the diameter of said tray, in composed between said base plate and deflecting plate, and supports disposed around the tan and connecting the base plate and deflecting plate.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York this sixth day of September A. D. 1907.

PETER COOPER HEWITT.

' Witnesses:

HUGO CENTEW LL. IRVING M. OBRmcn'r. 

